MLB Player News

Cabrera (back) is expected to miss the rest of the World Baseball Classic, Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY reports.

With Venezuela sitting at 0-2 in Pool F, the team is already all but eliminated from the tournament, as it would need an almost impossible combination of results and run scoring in order to win a tiebreaker and advance to the semifinals. As such, Cabrera will take it easy with the back injury, which is still expected to be minor, just to ensure that he will be ready for Opening Day with the Tigers.

Ramirez was optioned to minor league camp Friday, Mike Wilner of Sportsnet.ca reports.

A knee injury put Ramirez on the shelf last year just one game into his tenure in the Blue Jays' organization -- he came over from Pittsburgh in the Francisco Liriano deal. Ramirez hit .306/.354/.401 with two homers and seven steals (17 attempts) in 98 games with Double-A Altoona before the trade. The 22-year-old figures to return to Double-A to begin the 2017 season.

Cabrera's back discomfort, that prompted him to be removed from Thursday's World Baseball Classic contest, isn't a cause for concern for the Tigers, Evan Woodbery of MLive.com reports. "I just got a text from Omar (Vizquel, Venezuela's manager) this morning saying his back tightened up and he's fine. Don't think it's anything more than that," said Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said, who was uncertain whether Cabrera would play in Team Venezuela's Saturday contest.

Though it's worth noting, this story at first glance doesn't appear to jeopardize Cabrera's fantasy value. Of course, diligent drafters should watch closely as their big day approaches.

Cabrera (back) was pulled from Thursday's game against the Dominican Republic for precautionary reasons, MLB Network's Jon Morosi reports.

Hernan Perez came on to take over for Cabrera at first base in the sixth inning after the veteran slugger experienced some back tightness. Fortunately, manager Omar Vizquel told Morosi that the move was precautionary, so there's hope that Cabrera's back issue won't put him on the shelf for long. More information on Cabrera's status figures to be released Friday.

Brantley (shoulder) went 1-for-3 with a double and three RBI in his minor league spring debut Wednesday, Paul Hoynes of of Cleveland.com reports.

Brantley is slowly progressing through his rehab, testing the health of his surgically repaired right shoulder in minor league games before moving on. He said he felt good afterwards, which is good news, but his status for Opening Day remains a question mark. The 29-year-old will appear in another minor league game Friday, and if all goes well, he could see himself in Cactus League games fairly soon.

Colon left Wednesday's game after spraining his right middle finger, Jeffery Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Colon was 1-for-2 with a stolen base before he jammed his finger sliding back to second base. It's a tough blow for the 27-year-old, who is in a four-way competition for the starting second base job in Kansas City. Before the injury, he was 7-for-28 (.250) with one RBI in 13 games this spring. He should be considered day-to-day until further notice is provided by the team.

Colon left Wednesday's game after jamming his finger, Jeffrey Flanagan of MLB.com reports.

Colon was picked off at second and apparently jammed a few fingers on his right hand while he was diving back to the base. It is unclear how long he will be out, so consider him day-to-day until the Royals say otherwise.

Indians manager Terry Francona said that Brantley (shoulder) would play in minor-league games Wednesday and Friday, MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports.

Brantley was able to take part in simulated games last week without issue, so he's now slated to test out the health of his surgically-repaired right shoulder in non-controlled game settings. The 29-year-old certainly seems to be trending in the right direction, but his status for Opening Day is still something of a question mark. Even if Brantley is able to demonstrate in spring action that he's good to go for the start of the regular season, he's fraught with plenty of risk in fantasy drafts, as the shoulder procedure leaves serious concern that he'll be able to regain the All-Star form he displayed in 2014 and 2015.

Reed, who is hitting .360 with four homers and 10 RBI this spring, has made "things interesting," according to Houston manager A.J. Hinch, but the team remains committed to Yulieski Gurriel at first base, Brian McTaggart of MLB.com reports.

Hinch added that the Astros will almost certainly carry 13 pitchers to start the season, so the position-player group will be tough to crack despite Reed's stellar spring training. At the very least, Reed has put last season's debut (.164 in 122 at-bats) in the majors behind him. If he maintains a hot bat at Triple-A Fresno, he's put himself in position to be called up once the Astros are comfortable with 12 pitchers.

Cabrera hit a mammoth go-ahead home run in Venezuela's World Baseball Classic win Monday over Italy, his only hit in a 1-for-4 game.

Cabrera has not been the dominant force you would expect in the weaker talent pool of international play. He was hitting just .273/.273/.429 in the first round of pools entering Monday's play-in contest, as pitchers from Italy, Israel and Venezuela proved shockingly effective at stifling one of the world's best hitters. He'll need to ride the momentum of this ninth-inning home run if Venezuela wants to keep advancing in the WBC.